*Lender Notification Sent.*

*Administrative Credentials Revoked for User: E_VANCE_APEX.*

A sudden, sharp beep sounded from the phone.

Ethan must have received the alert on his own device.

“What did you do?” he roared. “My accounts are showing a zero balance!”

“You’ve been locked out,” I said. “Every dollar you have is frozen under a court-appointed receivership protocol.”

“You b—”

I cut him off by tapping the screen to end the call.

The silence in the room was sudden and heavy, broken only by the sound of Miller’s crowbar scraping against the steel doorframe.

But then, Miller stopped.

His radio crackled to life on his shoulder.

A panicked voice came through the static.

“Miller! Fall back! The system is completely down. The payroll accounts just locked, and the security feeds are failing.”

Miller paused, his crowbar wedged in the door.

He looked through the gap at Liam, then at me.

“Miller, do you copy?” the radio demanded. “Get to the main office. We have a systemic breach.”

Miller pulled the crowbar out of the frame.

Without another word, his footsteps retreated down the hallway, fading into the distance.